trail cam pick - While we are not in the camp

Nice fallow buck

Hartly Hare

Old Brock

New Grill

Xmas present from R&JA - works a treat!

Autumn bounty

 C got her first Squirrel with her 20 bore

 Plenty of blackberries and sloes for picking

As we left we saw this magnificent Coma butterfly.

Does

The White deer appears to be a bit of a loner.

Squirrels, Wild bees and mushrooms

 found an ash tree with a wild be nest in it... if I had bought the camera I might have got a shot of the combs which are visible from the ground

the air rifle is doing better than the trap at the moment...

not sure what these are - fungus i think...

Squirrel Trapping

Cruel but necessary.  The Squirrel population has reappeared now that the hazel nuts are nearly ripe, we can't afford the damage they did last year being repeated.

Butterfly survey

C wanted to do a butterfly survey...also know as an excuse to sit around in the sun(!) We saw a Speckled Wood, Dusky Skippers, Meadow Browns, Gatekeepers, Large and Small Whites and a Coma

Moving the High seat

The fallow really need to be culled this year as we are planning some coppicing.  So we moved the high seat to what is hopefully a better location and cleared the line of sight.

Fawns

Fallow and Muntjac does both have following fawns

Summer in wood - Badgers and Does

This doe gave us a close up while having a wash and brush up

The badgers return to the set 3 by 3

Badgers

Had the trail cam on the sett,  great fun seeing them, can't imagine the wood without them

Bank Holiday Sleep over down the wood

 We got bullied into go sleeping down the wood by our youngest, the little B.  So supper and wine got transported down to the wood.

C's first bivvy and Jenny was the first to sleep through the night in a hammock (B got out halfway through)

In the morning it was bacon and beans then a walk around the outside of the wood, checking out the Abbey, another first for C.

It was pretty cold in the night but that kept the midges away.  The moon crossed the sky in 3 bounds.

Slacklines, sausages and hammocks

The new hammocks are great - especially as the cost only £10.99 off flea bay.  The slackline was fun but its much harder than it looks.  The bonus is you get a core workout like you wouldn't believe

Early May in the Wood

Old hornbeam

may be the oldest in the wood if girth is anything to go by

Oxlips

Apparently the favourite aperitif of deer

Wood Anemones

The top of the pill box (where the deer can't reach) is a mat of flowers.  You can see the floor of the wood has been stripped bare.  I guess there really are too many deer at the moment.

Clearing pig fences

After loosing the Buck in the pig fence, removing it has become a priority.  C & B hard at work

Polecat or Mink?

Set up the trail camera on the buck that died in the fence.  Had loads of pictures but this one is the most interesting - is that a Polecat or a Mink...hard to tell in black and white, but there is a hint of a face mask.  The carcase also had a lot of interest from foxes who finally got the carcase open.

Family Pigeon Shoot

C sporting her b'day presents and Jen spotting the pigeons we had a great couple of hours down the wood. C is yet to bring down her first bird but I got two.  Molly had a great time, just about fully recovered from last weeks gastrobug